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Stranger Pays For World War II Veteran's Groceries

A Hampden, Maine, woman was on the giving end of a random act of kindness when she paid for a World War II veteran’s groceries in September.

Fred Mayhew, 89, was in the checkout line at the Hamden Hannaford grocery store on Sept. 2, the Bangor Daily News reported. He was wearing his veteran cap that day; he served as an infantryman for the U.S. Army in 1945 and 1946.

Mayhew, known around town as the Fudge Man due to his frequent trips dropping off batches of homemade fudge at the local fire department, was stunned by what happened next.

“I was standing there and I had two $20s in my hand to pay for my groceries when the girl behind me said: ‘Put that back in your pocket. I’m going to pay for that,’” he told the Bangor Daily News. “She told me, ‘Lots of luck,’ and, ‘Thank you for being a veteran.’”

“I’ve never seen her before in my life,” he added. “I said, ‘What’s going on here?’”

When he got home from the store, he told his wife, Esther, that he didn’t pay for the groceries he brought with him.